Julia's Restaurant — Restaurant in Berkeley

We were staying at the Berkeley City Club hotel, and it was pouring rain, so we decided to have a fancy dinner at Julia's. It definitely fits the bill for a couple or a small group looking to have a nice evening. Nothing about this restaurant stands out other than the neat historic building it's in, but nothing about Julia's will offend anyone, either, unless you're turned off by a menu that has only one vegetarian entree and no vegan entree options. The service was stellar. Attentive, friendly, and thoughtful, without being obtrusive - the staff are all definitely pros. The food was prepared well, and met our expectations based on the menu. There's nothing exciting or amazing on the menu, but it's nice. We ended up spending $125 for two entrees, one appetizer, one soup, a bottle of wine, and one dessert to split. If you enjoy spending time with the person or people you're having dinner with, and you don't need vegan meal options, then I'm willing to bet you would have a lovely time at Julia's. However, I wouldn't recommend that anyone should go out of their way to dine at Julia's. There are so many other options in Berkeley. And, if you're a foodie specifically looking to experience amazing food, you would probably be...

Was the night before my birthday. Exhausted from flying from London the day before and to LA and back that day i decided good to get out and not eat hotel food. Julia's looked great so i made a reservation for 8:30. Enough time to land from LA quick shower and out. Checking my phone at LAX i see a voicemail from the restaurant. They had availability at 7:30 if i was interested. I wasn't. Landing 90 minutes later there are 3 further missed calls from Julia's. On the taxi ride from SFO they called twice more so i finally picked up cuz this was weird. Would i like to come in at 7:30. I said i wouldn't. They said was i sure. I said yes. She then paused and said. Well our last reservation is at 7:30 and then we have to wait a whole hour for just you. I said ok. I can't make it by 7:30. She paused again. So i helped her out. I said would you rather i cancel than make you wait. She said that would be great. Before i had even hung up i got a notice from opentable that i was canceled. Glad you all got to leave early. I got to eat...

Had afternoon tea here, which is served Tuesday afternoons. The ambiance was beautiful, as expected from a Julia Morgan building, with old school charm including white tablecloths and flowers on the table. Service was prompt and professional.

I enjoyed the afternoon tea set, which came with ~ 5 assorted finger sandwiches (egg salad, chicken salad, tomato mozzarella pesto, cucumber, and smoked salmon), 2 scones (one plain, one sweet one with raisins), and assorted sweets (lemon tart, chocolate covered strawberry, macaron, and -oddly- a glazed donut hole), and a pot of tea (the jasmine green tea was fragrant and delicious). For $35 per person it's a great deal, I couldn't even finish my serving. It's not going to be the most traditional experience; for example, they serve whipped cream instead of a proper clotted cream, and marmalade as opposed to lemon curd, but experience and value-wise it is a solid choice for afternoon tea in the East Bay. Would definitely come again. Be sure to make reservations as it is a small...